Jack
Benny stands with his famous violin in
hand. Nearby, Lucille Ball
sits perched atop a wall, posing for the camera; Johnny
Carson looks as if he's about to deliver
his familiar nightly monologue on the "Tonight Show."

Where
can you find these life-size bronze statues of your favorite TV personalities?
At the new Hall of Fame at the Academy Plaza, out in front
of the Academy of Television Arts & Science headquarters, that's
where. It's the same place where you will see a mammoth golden replica
of the winged Emmy Award.

Don't confuse this organization
with the Academy of Motion
Picture Arts & Sciences, the people who give out the Oscars.
This is the Television Academy, which gives out the Emmy
awards - as that giant winged figure in the fountain should remind
you. The plaza is located in North Hollywood (in the Valley), just over
the hill from Hollywood proper.

It
isn't easy to find this new Hall of Fame. The office center where it's
located (Academy Plaza) is a splendid new project, but it's in a
slightly seedy part of town, and it isn't visible from the street. The
Academy headquarters is tucked away in a plaza hidden behind the Landmark
Entertainment Group building, near the northeast corner of Lankershim &
Magnolia Boulevards (a few miles north of Universal
Studios.)

The Hall of Fame is part of
a circular, pink-&-gray stone courtyard, located just outside the front
doors of the Academy building. In the center of this attractive outdoor
plaza is a bubbling fountain, topped by nothing less than a giant, 15-foot-tall,
gleaming, golden replica of an Emmy award, wings and all, holding aloft
her golden globe.
It's a dramatic sight, and a good place for Hollywood tourists to snap
a souvenir photo.

The
numerous bronze likenesses that make up the outdoor Hall of Fame encircle
this huge Emmy fountain - and include both busts and full-size statues.
The busts of classic TV personalities include not only well-known stars,
but also acclaimed TV writers (such as Rod
Serling & Paddy Chayefsky),
pioneering TV producers (such as Norman
Lear), and prominent TV executives (such
as William Paley).

Besides the three excellent
life-size statues of the TV superstars already mentioned (Jack,
Lucy &
Johnny),
there are carved likenesses embossed on the eastern wall of this plaza,
honoring such TV notables as George Burns
& Gracie Allen,
WalterCronkite
& Steve Allen.

Most
of the rest of the monuments are bronze busts of TV pioneers, including
"Mr. Television" himself, Milton Berle,
"Your Show of Shows" host Sid
Caesar,Walt Disney
and Mary Tyler Moore.

New inductees to the Hall of
Fame Plaza are unveiled on a regular basis; recent new additions include
a small, full-length figure of Jackie Gleason
(dancing), and traditional busts of Bob Hope,
Bill Cosby,
Danny Thomas,Ernie Kovacs, David Susskind,
newsman Eric Sevareid,
and comic Red Skelton.
(Red is dealing a hand of cards which bear images of him dressed as his
well-known characters, such as "Freddiethe Freeloader"
& "Clem Kadiddlehopper").

In
the last few years, the Academy has added more TV legends to the Hall of
Fame list (but did not add any busts or statues of these new inductees),
including Bob Newhart,
JackWebb,
Angela Lansbury,
Dick Clark,
John Chancellor,
Garry
Marshall, Diane Sawyer,
Mister Rogers,
Aaron Spelling,
Carl Reiner
and Phil Donahue,
bringing the total number close to 100.

This is an outdoor exhibit
- there is nothing for tourists to see inside the small, guarded lobby
of the Academy building itself (other than small statues of Ed Sullivan,
and Carol Burnett
in her washwoman costume). But in the 8-story tower on the other side of
the fountain, there is a small research library, which is open to the public
(on the third floor, room 340). On my last visit, the lobby of this tower
also displayed a large scale model of a proposed theme park, called "Mark
Twain's Calaveras County." (Press a button on the model and its
street lights come on and model trains run.)
It's admirable that television has finally honored its own with a permanent
exhibit, and you can bet that this Hall of Fame will grow quickly, as more
famous names are added to the star-studded list with each passing year.
But this still isn't the kind of attraction that most folks would go far
out of their way to see. Nevertheless, if you're in the Valley and looking
for a little Hollywood glamour, this is a nice little spot to stop and
take a snapshot with your visiting relatives.

Nearby, at 5230 Lankershim
Boulevard, is the new Academy Plaza Theatre. On one Sunday of each
month, the theatre offers "the show of the month," featuring
veteran entertainers such as Shelly Berman,
Phyllis Dillerand Frankie
Laine. For more information about these
shows, phone (818) 785-8885.

The plaza is open free to the public. There's a free parking lot, plus
limited (metered) street parking on Lankershim.

Getting
there:The
Hall of Fame is located in the outdoor Academy Plaza, in front of the new
Academy of Television Arts & Sciences building in North Hollywood (about
two miles northwest of Universal Studios), near the northeast corner of
Lankershim & Magnolia Blvds. The Academy building is tucked away in
a larger center behind (north of) the Landmark Entertainment Group Building,
on the east side of Lankershim Blvd. / From Hollywood, take the
Hollywood (101) Freeway into the Valley and get off at the Magnolia Boulevard
exit. Go east on Magnolia (half a mile) to Lankershim Blvd. Turn left (northwest)
on Lankershim, then turn into the private drive that leads into the center.
Once inside, you'll quickly spot the giant Emmy Award fountain. The busts
and statues that make up the Hall of Fame surround this fountain.

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